A Boston College sports blog capturing the highs and lows of being a BC fan living 1,000 miles from Chestnut Hill.

Monday, March 31, 2008

2nd annual Tom Dienhart ACC Coach Rankings Rebuttal

Don't worry, there will not be a third addition of this feature as the predictable Dienhart doesn't deserve another response after this one.

Here is his newest rankings. Jags comes in at 11. A big jump from the 12 spot Dienhart gave him last year. The biggest surprise is that Dienhart actually moved TOB down one slot from 3 to 4. I guess a 5-7 season will do that. However, Dienhart is still steadfast in his support of TOB.

Just imagine if Notre Dame or Washington had hired him. I still think it's a lead-pipe cinch that O'Brien will have the Wolfpack playing in the ACC title game within three-to-five years.

He's familiar with the terrain at The Heights. And his NFL background will make him attractive to recruits. But can he run the whole show? The jury is out. But know this: Jags inherited a loaded deck and needs to win big this fall. And if he tastes success, will he bolt back to the NFL.

Let's look at the results from Dienhart's critiques from a year ago. Can he run the whole show? So far, so good. Jags inherited a loaded deck and needs to win big this fall. Division champs. Exciting wins over VT and Clemson. Beating Notre Dame. Most wins in a season since the '40s. More wins than TOB's proclaimed 10-win ceiling for BC. Looks like Jags answered some of Dienhart's gripes. Yet, this is what he has to say this season:

He enjoyed a wildly successful debut season. Now, the hard part: maintaining the level of excellence. If he backs up last year's magic with another contending team, I'll stamp Jags as "legit."

Fair enough. He wants to see Jags do it again. All BC fans do. But don't you have a funny feeling that if BC goes 14-0 next season, Dienhart will still be saying "yeah, but..."

What a joke. I would love to find just one person who legitimately takes this guy seriously. I used to be the Sports Editor of my high school newspaper and I'm pretty sure I had more readers than this hack.

my man, how can you put the creator of that 2001 UM team at #9? I understand the creation of that team is not necessarily the work of a great coach, but a college coach is as much about good gameplans as it is bringing in stellar athletes. Butch has got to move to the top 3-5 of that list.